Wrong Turn
by Poeros
Summary: In Future Trunks' world, a ship lands looking to trade but finds themselves stranded on Earth. Trunks has a lot to figure out Earth's new visitors, but none of it as concerning as the state of the universe in the hands of a tyrant. How long until it comes to Earth? Can Trunks stop it? Only time will tell.
1. Chapter 1: Three planets ago

Disclaimer: I do not own DBZ or anything related to it. All the content in this story is written purely for fun. Please enjoy.

Chapter One: I was serious three planets ago.

* * *

The bug-eyed created pointed one of its fingers to the screen. "So what about this planet?"

Captian Taiji walked over, his serpent-like tail slithering on the floor behind him as he peered at the monitor of the helm officer. His talon flicked through the details of the planet that were collected from a probe that had come a few weeks prior to their arrival.

"Low population for a planet that size," he mused. "Am I reading these scans correctly? Plenty of water and vegetation, but low life forms?"

"The researchers think there was a recent war of sorts. You can see it in the craters all over the surface, but," the helm officer brought up another close screen of the craters, "if you look closely, you can see that they aren't the result of meteorites." He leaned back to look at the captain. "You think the population is open to trading?"

The captain frown, his attention fixed on the display of the blue planet. "Wasn't there something about this planet in the galaxy logs? The name seems familiar."

"Perhaps." The helm officer flew across the console keys, pulling up the galactic records. After skimming through the scrolling text, he pointed a finger at one line. "It says that Lord Freeza and his father were killed here by a saiyan."

The captain's scaly browns went up. "That's right. I remember those reports. A Sayjin… That's interesting. Any active tags to show they're still there?"

"No, I double checked." The humanoid-insect leaned back in his chair. "Unless they learned how to deactivate them."

"Shame. Who knew how much they'd be needed after they were eradicated. We're lucky we found the one we did." He studied the planet display again, his tail flicking to and fro as he stared in silence. "Prepare for entry. We'll open for trade and see what we can find out. If we're lucky, maybe the Sayjin did some repopulation activities."

The helm officer chuckled, the sound coming out in a series of clicks and hisses. "Of course." He turned and punched in codes as the lights on the ship changed from their calming blue to green: the color to let the crew know to prepare for landing.

* * *

Five years.

Five years since the androids were destroyed. Five nice, peaceful, years humans used to up the pieces and put their lives back together. Sure, there had been hard times in some places with food shortages or small domestics, but they weren't that urgent in the large scheme of things. Bulma herself was content with the current state of things. Could they be better? Of course. Would they? In time.

Between her and Trunks efforts, life returned to a sibilance of normalcy. A slow return, but steady. Thanks to Capsule Corporation technology, getting supplies and much-needed rations to different people around the world made relief work for more deprived areas possible. People still flinched when a shadow passed overhead, but the children that were running about didn't have such reactions. They were growing up in better times and that was all that mattered to the blue haired scientist.

Bulma leaned back in her office chair, rubbing her eyes with a sigh. A look at the clock showed she'd been there for the better part of six hours. As if by magic, the moment she saw the time her stomach growled.

 _I'm turning into my father_ , she mused, standing and walking out of the office. _Days would pass and he'd forget to feed himself if it wasn't for mother_.

It made her sad to think of her parents, gone now. So many of those on earth were lacking parents or key family members. Her heart went out to Chichi, living with her father in the middle of the woods with her husband and son gone. Bulma felt lucky in that, she still had her son.

Walking into the kitchen, a bright yellow post-it note stuck to the coffee maker caught her attention. She picked it up, looking at the small and neat handwriting of her son.

 _Hi mom. Looked like you were in the zone. I left you some breakfast. Going to Pepper City to see about fixing a generator. Back for dinner. Trunks._

"Such a good boy." She smiled at the note, placing it on the table before opening the fridge to see what creation Trucks had left her. Bright and gifted he was, he still has single-man habits when it came to the concept of foods. Nachos for dinner, beans on toast, and take-out where Trucks' idea of 'making dinner.' Bulma spotted the left-over pizza and felt her stomach growl.

Putting it into the microwave, she mused over the change of her son. Since his return, Trunks spent more time taking care of her than her taking care of him. It never reached a fussy level, but she noted how close he stayed to home.

He never elaborated about his time in the past. When he did speak about it, it was too cut and dry. Too technical. Like a lab report. Something had happened that shook him, but hell if she could guess what it was. She hoped one day Trunks would be willing to share it with her.

"Maybe one day," she said, speaking herself. "You definitely picked up some of your father's manors."

Bulma hoped that Vegeta had been a good father figure for Trunks… or at least what he thought was a good one. Placing a hand over her heart, she mentally pushed away the pangs of loneliness. Whoever had said time heals all wounds never loved a Sayjin Prince. Vegeta hadn't been the greatest of lovers, but he'd been perfect for her. Equal in ego, wit, power—in their own ways—and passion.

The beeping brought her out of her thoughts and she looked back to the microwave—

—it was still cooking.

The beeping happened again and she looked up to find one of the droids she made was floating overhead while flashing at her. She blinked at it, completely taken by surprised by it. She'd made it over thirty years ago when the first Sayjin had landed on earth.

She'd made it to give warning before there was another landing.

Snapping out of her daze she punched a button on the droid and pulled it down to look at the screen on it. The image showed a ship that was slowly lowering into the atmosphere. It wasn't like one of the pods that she'd seen and much larger than the Namek ship she'd piloted. There were what she suspected to be weapons on the ship, but they were pointed up and away from the surface of the earth.

For now.

 _Oh please, kami,_ Bulma thought, _Let this be a peaceful group._

She rushed out of the kitchen and do her speeder, her food in the microwave forgotten. Punching in the coordinates for the estimated landing site, Bulma guided the speeder up and let the navigation take over. She wasn't sure how much good she could do, but given she was one of the few people with experience in speaking to alien species, she wanted to do what she could with this new and unknown group.

And it would be a lie to say she wasn't a little excited about it.

* * *

The crew scurried about the ship like an ant colony. The security prepped and handed out ki-blaster to those venturing outside. By the main door, a group of environmental scientist in light blue bodysuits checked, rechecked, and triple checked the readings of the planet's atmosphere.

"It's safe," one said, over the ship intercom. "You can breathe the air. I don't recommend drinking the water or eating anything until we have it tested. No telling what's developed on this planet."

"Understood. At least we don't have to greet them wearing the suits," said the captain. "Landing crew ready?"

"Yes, sir." The helm officer looked at his screen and tilted his head at the monitor. "There is a message from engineering about one of the turbo engines."

The captain grimaced at the announcement. "Stall for me. I want to stretch my legs a bit before having to deal with the head engineer." He wanted to step outside and breath in planet-created air and bath in the warmth of a sun. All the crew did.

"Yes, sir," The officer said as he turned his attention back to his own monitor.

Rolling his shoulders, the Captain went back to his chair to pluck his modest officer jacket up and worked it on. He took a moment to smooth it out, attempting to be as presentable as possible. Often these visits went well, but normally they were planets that were used to outside visitors. If records were correct, the only real outside visitors this sphere had gotten were Sayjins and that was not always the best introduction to life in space. He nodded to two others on the ship, his second in command and communication officer.

Most planets understood Galatic Common.

The trio made their way towards the entrance of the ship where three security officers stood waiting for them. At the sign of the three officers, they straightened to attention and saluted.

"At ease," the captain said. Once the men relaxed, he added, "I want this to be a peaceful mission. We don't know the culture, the customs, or even if they speak Galactic Common. For all we know, we've landed on a holy area and started a war. So," he gave each crew member in front of him a look, "best behavior. We want to trade and stay planetside for as long as the welcome lasts."

They all answered with a curt nod.

The computer by the door beeped, a computerized voice saying, "Door opening. Please watch your step."

The captain pulled in a breath and released it. "Let's make friends."

The computer unlatched all the safeties as the first whoosh of fresh air rushed into the ship. Security took the lead and once the all-clear sounded on the displayed of his scouter.

Taiji stepped out, barely suppressing a groan as natural warmth touched his scaly skin. His head tilted back and eyes closed and he soaked in the feel of the air all around him. He'd spent too long under a sun-lamp and not enough time in the sun.

"Captian," one of the security men said, "something's coming."

Looking around, Taiji picked out a growing dot in the distance. He watched it, assuming it to be a vessel of sorts. "No sudden moves. Let's see what happens."

They watched the large Capsule Corps car slow and coming to a stop several yards from them. A female shaped figure stepped out and stood there. She didn't move or speak. Instead, the creature did the same thing they were doing.

Watching.

Before he could take a step toward the figure, the second in command nudged him and jerked his head down the way they had come. The captain looked back to the figure marching over to him down the corridor and visibly cringed.

Apparently, the helm officer couldn't stall for very long. But seeing the look on his chief engineer's face, Taiji wouldn't have been able to either. Horrific storm clouds looked cuddly next to the promise in those dark eyes.

In truth, her appearance was cousin to the female that awaiting outside with only a few differences in her build. Sturdy and made for a warmer climate. Her hair was black and matted even though it was tightly braided in a bun. She wore engineer coveralls with easy to see patches and stains on it from oil and who knew what else. Her face was a little messy from smearing oil across it, but other than that, one would say the female was pretty indeed.

"Captain," The female said, speaking in her native language. It was a composition of clicks, low single syllables, that all merged together into something musical. "I would really like it if you would listen to me."

"I always listen to you, Veta," Taiji said in Galactic Common, trying to keep his tone light. "Now is not th-"

She cut him off. "You don't. Because if you did listen to me three planets ago, we could have actual turbo coils and not the makeshift ones I've made from the buffer panels." The female jerked a thumb towards the front of the ship. "Now we _can't_ leave."

That got the Captain's attention and he frowned at Veta. "What do you mean we can't leave?"

"I mean we are stuck here," she said, pointing a finger to the ground, "until I can make actual replacement coils. Or buy them. The material I was using wasn't meant to transmit the type of energy that the engine needs to function. It was just a bandage over a wound. We're lucky the ship didn't explode on entry." She stopped to peek outside the door and nodded at the scenery. "At least we landed on a nice planet and not a piece of shit."

Taiji frowned, staring hard at his engineer. "How long would it take you to fix it?"

Veta shrugged a shoulder. "I don't know. Depends if I can find what I need on this planet or not. Could be a few weeks or a few months."

Buju spoke up, speaking in Veta's native tongue, though it lacked the musical quality, "You can't be serious."

Taiji's chief leveled a glare at the communications officer. "I was serious _three planets_ ago."

The two looked at each other for a long moment while the others around them watched nervously. The Captain sighed in defeat and rubbed his three eyes. "Fix what you can, and I will see what can be done about obtaining the materials you need."

"Thanks." She gave him a curt nod and walked off back to the engine room, a monkey-like tail swayed in time with her walk.

Taiji pulled in a breath and released it. "One step at a time."

Looking back out to the female figure that was standing before the ship, the Captain recomposed himself before walking towards her. His second in command and communication officer came with him with a much heavier air about them than they'd originally had. The Captain kept himself looking has unintimidating as he could while walking over to the native who did not seem overly alarmed by his being there. A curious thing.

Once he was close enough, he bowed his head in what he hoped would be a respectful gesture here. "My name is Captain Taiji. We come to you in peace and in need. I'm afraid we're stranded here."

* * *

Author note: Hey all! If you made here, then I hoped you like the start of what I've done so far. I haven't written fanfiction in a _long_ time and I wanted to pick this story up again. If you like it, let me know! Feedback is always welcomed-motivating-and appreciated.


	2. Chapter 2: They're good at lying

Disclaimer: I do not own DBZ or anything related to it. All the content in this story is written purely for fun. Please enjoy.

Chapter Two: They're good at lying

* * *

Bulma leaned back in her chair, her eyes taking in Trunks' frown. "You don't approve."

Trunks sat at the kitchen counter, a cup of coffee steaming near his hands. His frowned deepened at her words and he let out a sigh. "It's not that I don't approve _kaa-san_. I just… I wished you'd called me first. What if they'd been dangerous?"

"No," Buluma held up a finger at him. "We're not going to play the game where you're worried about my well-being when you were running around and fighting androids _behind my back_. You weren't even ready."

Trunks' winched at that. "I only have one _kaa-san_."

Bulma sighed and reached over to place her hand on top of his. "And I only have one son." She squeezed a hand she knew could easily topple buildings. "I'm sorry I didn't call you."

He nodded, making his long hair sway and placed a hand on her's. "So, what did you learn? Do you know why they're here?"

She nodded and picked up her own coffee and sipped it. "They said they're stranded. Something about the engine now working."

Trunks snorted through his nose. "I'm surprised you didn't charge in there and fix it."

"Please," Bulma rolled her eyes. "I would have, but I didn't have any tools." She hesitated before adding, "I was thinking about going out there today and offering some food and help with their mechanical issue if I could."

Her son offered a small smile. "Would it be too protective to ask if I could come along?"

Bulma smiled and shook her head. "No. I'd rather you come with me. You'll sense things I can't."

Trunks nodded. "I'll get the car ready."

* * *

Bulman landed the hover car and stepped out at the same time as Trunks. They both took in the ship, her own eyes flickering over the people crawling over it with blow-torch looking items.

Trunks asked, "What are they doing?"

The blue haired scientist watched for several seconds before saying, "Repairing. Looks like their ship's seen better days."

"They'll probably need raw materials." Trunks gestured to the front of the ship where gaps were visible. "I'm not a rocket scientist, but the front of the ship looks like it's missing parts there."

Bulma nodded with a frown. "I'm in agreement." Her blue eyes rested on a figure rushing towards them. "That's Buju. He's the translator."

Her son looked at the human-looking figure and then her with a cocked eyebrow. "Do we need one?"

"I'll let him explain," she said. Once Buju was close enough, she smiled warmly. "Hey Buju."

"Bulma Briefs," he said, jutting his hand at her. "It is good to see you." The skinny male looked as threatening as a puppy. His brown hair needed a haircut, but it only added to his charm as he smiled at the pair.

Still smiling, she took the hand and shook it before nodding to Trunks. "This is my son. We've come to offer whatever assistance we can."

Buju took a step towards Trunks, offering his hand to him as he'd done with Bulma. "We are sorry to impose on you, but are grateful for your assistance."

Trunks smiled, taking the hand and offering a shake. "No problem. I was asking my _kaa-san_ if we really needed a translator." He frowned before asking, "Are you human?"

"Oh," Buju withdrew his hand. "No, I am not from your planet. I'm a Tuffle."

Trunks' eyebrows shot up. "A Tuffle? Did you share a planet with Saiyan's?"

Buju's expression did several things. His own brows went up and then down as he worried his bottom lip. "We didn't… share it. More like fought on it until we decided to move elsewhere. Good thing since it's not there anymore." His brown eyes shifted between the pair. "I didn't think a planet this far out would know about anything like that."

"You're not our first visitor," Bulma said. "Granted, you're the first we've had in twenty-five years."

"Interesting!" Buju planted his hands on his hips as he looked at Trunks. "As for your questions, you'll need a translator for some of the crew. Not everyone knows Galactic or has the translator chip installed. Our chief engineer refuses to speak Galactic Common."

"Speaking of your engineer, we brought you some supplies to help you." Bulma pulled out a capsule corps case and offered it to Buju. "It's not much, but we hope it will help."

Trunks smiled at Buju's confused expression as he took the offered item. He looked it over, finding the zipper and opened it to expose the capsules inside. "Very kind of you."

"Here," Trunks said, reaching to take one of the capsules. "Let's me show you how it works." He clicked the top of it and tossed it to the side. An explosion and smoke screen later, the three of them stared at one of the portable buildings.

Buju only stared, his eyes shifting from the capsules to the two-story building in front of him. "H-how?"

"It's the technology we developed here," Bulma said, her chin up and chest puffed out. "It's not much, but it's useful."

"It's amazing," Buju said, making Bulma flush in pleasure. "Thank you, both, very much."

"So," Bulma said, "about your engine…."

Buju grinned and waved the pair to follow him. "Come on in. I am sure I can patch things over with Veta."

"Veta? Is that your chief engineer?"

Buju nodded and stepped into the ship. He took care to make sure they could follow from the inner maze of the ship. "Yes. She's Sayjin, if you are aware of them. They're very territorial about things, but she'll be happy to let you help once she sees you can."

Bulma and Trunks exchanged a look. It was easy to see they both had the same question. Some Sayjin's were still alive?

The pair earned curious glances as they followed Buju through the corridors. Bulma noted the sagging shoulders, shadows under the eyes, and the sluggish movements of some.

 _They're exhausted,_ she thought as they passed that looked close to falling asleep. _The captain didn't seem the sort to drive others to this point. What's driving them like this?_

She stored it away as information to find out later. The scientist suspected that it wasn't any of her business, but another part of her saw the state of the crew as a prequel of… something. Her thoughts were interrupted as they stepped into the engine room.

A large single glowing core dominated the room, held in place by a large tube from the ceiling to the floor. The tube itself had metal patches all over it. One patch was cracked with two people held by suspension cords over it with blow torches. Two pipes met in the center of the core and extended to the sides of the room. All about the walls were stairs meant to led others up and down to all the intercartel parts.

"This is bad," Bulma murmured to herself. "Let's get to work, Ms. Smarty-pants."

Trunks watched his mother moved towards the engine, her eyes taking in everything that he saw, but he knew she'd process it much faster than him. He tucked his hands into the pocket of his pants and kept close to Buju.

The mall Truffle called out, "Where's Veta?"

" _Esi_ ," a female voice grunted from above.

The word, more than the location of the voice, made his head jerk up. He knew that word as Saiyan for 'here.' He found a woman, dressed in work coveralls, hanging upside down by her tail nearby one of the pipes. Her naturally tanned face holding the expression of a scowl at the pair of them. In one hand she held a large wrench, which she'd been using to work a bolt back into place.

Her tall loosened and she dropped to the ground. Trunks watched her twist herself and land with a loud thud. She straightened and revealed herself to be petite in size, standing even shorter than his father been when alive.

She rested the wrench, as big as she was, over a shoulder. The female, Veta, gestured a hand to Trunks and Bulma as she glared at Buju. " _R'et eh esi_?" Why are they here?

Buju responded in Saiyan, but Trunks found himself able to keep up with the language his alternative timeline father had taught him. " _They offered to help. We can't turn it down_."

Veta's hand tightened around the handle of her wrench. " _Unless they have replacement coils, they can't do much_." Her black eyes shifted to Trunks, her eyes flickering over him.

 _Probably best to play dumb,_ Trunks thought to himself. He stepped forward and held his hand out to her and offered his friendliest smile. "My name is Trunks."

Her eyes shifted from his face to the hand and back to his face.

 _"You're suppose to shake it,"_ Buju stage-whispered.

Trunks fought down a laugh as she sighed and grabbed his fingers and shook his hand about. "My mother and I are willing to help however we can," he said, nodding his head to his mother who'd already rolled up her sleeves and was helping another one of the exhausted looking engineers.

Veta grunted at his words, her face tilting to Buju. " _Are they all this pretty or he an exception?"_

Trunks felt a blush creep up his neck and turn to look at the rest of the room, his hair blocking out his reddening cheeks.

Buju scoffed. " _I don't know, I don't… inspect males like you do."_

He heard the woman chuckle. _"Maybe being stuck here won't be so bad."_ She grunted and Trunks looked up to see her climbing up the sides of the wall with ease, her tail wrapped around her wrench club.

"She says you're welcomed to stay and help out," Buju told him with a warm smile.

"That's great," Trunks said, offering his own smile. _They're good at lying. Something to keep in mind._ "Just point me in the direction you need help with.

Several hours passed before Trunks, covered in dirt and grim, pulled at his mother's shoulder. "Kaa-san, it's late."

She looked at him with wide eyes. "No, it's not. It's only," she looked at her watch and sighed. "midnight."

He smiled at her and helped her get to her feet. She grunted, placing a hand on her back as she felt her hips and knees pop. "I'm sorry to pull you away. You looked like you were having fun."

"It's a complicated machine," Bulma said. "But there's more patchwork than an engine. This thing shouldn't even fly."

"It's not suppose to," a female voice growled at. Both Bulma and Trunks turned to see Veta, covered in even more grime standing at their side. "You both worked hard today," Veta said, her strong accent and broken speech making it hard to follow her words. "Thank you. You not have to, but did."

Bulma found herself smiling. "We didn't have to, but we want to. We'll be back tomorrow."

The petite sayian nodded her understanding. "Is so? Is good. Will show you out. Buju gone sleep." Setting a scanner looking tool to the side, Veta took the lead as she led the pair back to the main exit hatch of the ship.

Bulma watched as the woman paused to study the nighttime sky. With a frown, she turned to look at them. "Your world have no moon?"

"It used to," Bulma said. "But it was destroyed."

The sayian wrinkled her nose. "Pity." She turned and bowed to them.

"What materials do you need?" Trunks asked. "To repair the core?"

Veta hesitated before letting out a sigh. "Need matter-creator coils. It use to make energy and send to rest of ship to move. Most planets have metal for it. Tritiuianmin?"

Bulma shook her head. "We don't have an element named that, but that doesn't mean we don't have it. Maybe tomorrow you can show me the part and I can see what it's made of?"

Veta shifted, her bloodshot eyes moving between the two of them. "Yes. Will do."

"All right," Bulma said with a wave. "Tomorrow then."

Mother and son waited until they were in the car and flying off before speaking.

"They're hiding something," Trunks said.

"No," Bulma mused out loud. "They're running from something."

"Running?" Trunks turned his head towards his mother. "What makes you think that?"

"The state of the workers. I am sure you saw how tired they are all. They aren't looking to stay here long if they can help it."

Trunks frowned as he mulled that over. "You're sure it's not that they are being pushed to?"

"I didn't get that kind of feeling from the captain when I spoke to him. But I've been wrong before." Bulma sighed, adjusting herself in the seat as she drove the hover-car back towards their home. "I hope I am. I don't want what's chasing them to come here. We aren't ready for that."

"I can protect us," Trunks said, his tone stern.

"I know you can, honey. But what will we do when we don't have you? There's aren't any world defenders to help us after you pass away. It's not fair to ask whatever children you have to pick up that responsibility."

Trunks frowned. "What are you thinking then?"

"They want to use us to help them get off the planet and keep running. We can use them in turn."

A smile crept across his mouth. "That sounds like something father would say."

Bulma scoffed. "No. Your father would just strut in there, say everything in the ship was his now, and kill anyway that argued against him. We aren't going to kill anyone."

"And we are going to do this... how?"

"You saw Buju's face. A ship that size doesn't much in the way of storage. I am sure we can work something out. Our tech for their tech."

Trunks wrinkled his nose. "I dunno. This is too sneaky for me. Why not be honest with them?"

Bulma gave him a sidelong look. "You think they will be honest with us?"

He thought over the conversation between Buju and Veta and how easily the Truffle had lied. But, at the same time, Veta's words when she thanked them for their help had seemed honest. "Maybe," he finally said. "Let's play it by ear and see what happens."

* * *

Author Note: Hey! Welcome back! If you made it this far, thank you! It meant it kept your interest enough to get to this point. If you like it, let me know, please. Feedback, both good and bad, is always useful and deeply appreciated. Thank you so much for reading.


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